Google and Twitter catch a break, as the Supreme Court sidesteps requests to make changes to Section 230

In Bloomberg: The U.S. Supreme Court left in place a broad liability shield for social media companies for content posted by users, insulating Twitter, Facebook and Google from claims that they provided assistance to Islamic State terrorists. Acting in a case involving Google, the court refused to limit the immunity internet companies have enjoyed under Section 230. In a related case, the court tossed out a lawsuit that said social media companies bore responsibility under an anti-terrorism law for a 2017 shooting in an Istanbul nightclub. More here.

And in TechCrunch: ChatGPT is going mobile. Today, OpenAI announced the launch of an official iOS app that allows users to access its popular AI chatbot on the go, months after the App Store was filled with dubious, unofficial services. The new ChatGPT app will be free to use, free from ads, and will allow for voice input, the company says, but will initially be limited to U.S. users at launch. More here.

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On Tuesday of this week, neuroscientist, founder and author Gary Marcus sat between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Christina Montgomery, who is IBM’s chief privacy trust officer, as all three testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for over three hours. The senators were largely focused on Altman because he runs one of the most powerful companies on the planet at the moment, and because Altman has repeatedly asked them to help regulate his work. (Most CEOs beg Congress to leave their industry alone.)

Though Marcus has been known in academic circles for some time, his star has been on the rise lately thanks to his newsletter (“The Road to A.I. We Can Trust"), a podcast (“Humans vs. Machines"), and his relatable unease around the unchecked rise of AI. In addition to this week's hearing, for example, he has this month appeared on Bloomberg television and been featured in the New York Times Sunday Magazine and Wired among other places.

Because this week's hearing seemed truly historic in ways -- Senator Josh Hawley characterized AI as "one of the most technological innovations in human history," while Senator John Kennedy was so charmed by Altman that he asked Altman to pick his own regulators -- we wanted to talk with Marcus, too, to discuss the experience and see what he knows about what happens next.

Are you still in Washington?

I am still in Washington. I’m meeting with lawmakers and their staff and various other interesting people and trying to see if we can turn the kinds of things that I talked about into reality.

You’ve taught at NYU. You’ve co-founded a couple of AI companies, including one with famed roboticist Rodney Brooks. I interviewed Brooks on stage back in 2017 and he said then he didn’t think Elon Musk really understood AI and that he thought Musk was wrong that AI was an existential threat.

I think Rod and I share skepticism about whether current AI is anything like artificial general intelligence. There are several issues you have to take apart. One is: are we close to AGI and the other is how dangerous is the current AI we have? I don't think the current AI we have is an existential threat but that it is dangerous. In many ways, I think it's a threat to democracy. That's not a threat to humanity. It's not going to annihilate all humans. But it's a pretty serious risk.

Not so long ago, you were debating Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist. I'm not sure what that flap was about – the true significance of deep learning neural networks?

So LeCun and I have actually debated many things for many years. We had a public debate that David Chalmers, the philosopher, moderated in 2017. I've been trying to get [LeCun] to have another real debate ever since and he won't do it. He prefers to subtweet me on Twitter and stuff like that, which I don't think is the most adult way of having conversations . . .More here.

Hallow, the Chicago-based company behind a faith-based app of the same name, has received a $50 million growth investment led by Goodwater Capital. (We talked with the company when it raised a $40 million Series B round in late 2021.) Hallow has now raised $105 million to date, though it says in a blog post that it isn't about the money. 🙏

Instawork, an eight-year-old San Francisco startup that connects hourly workers with companies that need to fill shifts, raised a $60 million Series D round at a $760 million valuation. TCV led the transaction, while Benchmark, Spark Capital, and Greylock also took part. The company has raised a total of $160 million. Forbes has more here.

Shein, the 15-year-old online fashion company based in Singapore, raised a $2 billion round at a $66 billion valuation, about a third less than a year earlier. Earlier backers Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic were co-leads, along with Mubadala. The company has raised a total of $4 billion. The WSJ has more here.

Glowforge, a nine-year-old Seattle startup that makes a line of laser-based 3D printers that cut and engrave various materials, raised a $20 million Series E extension round. Previous investors DFJ Growth and Foundry Group co-led the deal, while fellow insiders Revolution Growth and True Ventures also anted up. Glowforge has raised a total of $133.2 million. GeekWire has more here.

Kelvin, a ten-year-old Brooklyn company that designs and installs HVAC systems that it claims can help decarbonize buildings and reduce operating costs without requiring buildings to replace existing systems, raised a $30 million Series A round led by 2150. ESG Today has more here.

Mitiga Solutions, a five-year-old Barcelona startup that says it uses AI to predict extreme weather such as wildfires and volcano eruptions, raised a $14.3 million Series A round led by Kibo Ventures, with additional funds provided by Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Nationwide Ventures, Faber Ventures, and CREAS Impacto. The company has raised a total of $18.9 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Obie, which sells instant insurance to landlords and real estate investors in small-to mid-size apartments, has raised $25.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Battery Ventures, with participation from Brick & Mortar Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

Percent, a five-year-old New York startup that has created a marketplace for private credit deals, raised a $29.7 million Series B round led by White Star Capital, with participation from Susquehanna International Group, B Capital, and others. The company has raised a total of $48.2 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Prime Roots, a six-year-old startup based in Berkeley, Ca., that makes deli-style meats from koji mycelium, raised a $30 million Series B round led by True Ventures, with Pangaea Ventures, Prosus Ventures, Solasta Ventures, and Top Tier Capital also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $48.5 million. More here.

Stacklok, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that is building tools and services to help organizations secure their software supply chains, raised a $17.5 million Series A round from Madrona and Accel. TechCrunch has more here.

SWAPP, an Israeli startup that streamlines the creation and management of architectural construction documents, raised an $11.5 million Series A round led by Eurazeo, while Activum SG Ventures, XTX Ventures, and previous investor Entrée Capital also invested. The company has raised a total of $18.5 million. Calcalist has more here.

Union.ai, a three-year-old startup based in Bellevue, Wa., whose open source tool helps teams automate their machine learning processes, raised a $19.1 million Series A round. NEA and Nava Ventures co-led the deal.. The company has raised a total of $29.1 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Amini, a Nairobi startup founded this year that uses AI to pull together data from satellites and other sources to help agricultural concerns and other organizations understand the impact of climate events such as drought, raised a $2 million pre-seed round. Pale Blue Dot was the deal lead; Superorganism, RaliCap, W3i, and Emurgo Kepple Ventures also invested. TechCrunch has more here.

Axis, an Egyptian startup that offers digital banking services for small businesses and their employees, raised an $8.25 million seed round from Tiger Global, Sawari Ventures, Raba, Firstminute Capital, and RaliCap. TechCrunch has more here.

Azteco, a three-year-old startup based in Santa Monica, Ca., that equips users with Bitcoin vouchers that allow them to make purchases and access credit without a bank account, raised a $6 million seed round led by Jack Dorsey, with additional participation from Lightning Ventures, Hivemind Ventures, Ride Wave Ventures, Aleka Capital, Visary Capital, and Gaingels. Built in LA has more here.

Bloom Finance, a three-year-old Toronto startup that has developed a reverse mortgage product for seniors, raised a $5.2 million Series A round. SixThirty Ventures was the deal lead. More here.

Neura Health, a three-year-old New York startup whose virtual neurology clinic provides telemedicine services for conditions such as migraines, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis, raised an $8 million seed round co-led by Koch Disruptive Technologies and Norwest Venture Partners, with Pear VC, Next Play Ventures, Correlation Ventures, and Plug and Play Ventures also participating. The company has raised a total of $10.3 million. Forbes has more here.

Omaha Productions, a three-year-old Los Angeles startup that has developed programming for ESPN, documentaries for Netflix, and commercials for big brands, raised a $10 million round from North Road Co. (Peter Chernin's firm) at a $400 million valuation, according to Bloomberg, which has more here.

Planera, a two-year-old startup based in San Jose, Ca., whose building project schedule software streamlines the planning and estimation process for construction companies, raised a $5.4 million seed round. Sorenson Ventures and Firebolt Ventures were the deal co-leads. The Real Deal has more here.

StepChange, a one-year-old Bengaluru startup that helps enterprises manage their ESG compliance, raised a $4.1 million seed round co-led by BEENEXT and Global Founders Capital, with Genesia Ventures, Whiteboard Capital, Saison Capital, Seedstars, Antler, and Speciale Invest also piling on. Entrackr has more here.

Tangible, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that is building a tool to help construction companies find more sustainable building materials, raised a $3 million seed round led by Foundamental and previous investor Fifty Years, with Redstone Built World Fund, Pi Labs, Asymmetric, and Deco Ventures also pitching in. TechCrunch has more here.

Unitea, a startup whose platform rewards fans who engage with artists and their music, raised a $7 million seed round led by 1st Class Guernsey, Chaos Capital, TokenSociety, and Fuel Venture Capital. Music Ally has more here.

Vault, a one-year-old Toronto startup that is building a platform for businesses to manage their finances across borders, raised a $3.7 million seed round co-led by Gradient Ventures and Fin Capital, with The Fintech Fund, Exponent Capital, and Thirdbase Capital also contributing. More here.

VoxelSensors, a three-year-old Brussels startup that claims its sensor technology enables complete immersive experiences in consumer electronics as well as AR/VR/MR wearables, raised a $5.4 million round co-led by Capricorn Partners and Qbic, with participation from finance&invest.brussels. The company has raised a total of $6.7 million. Silicon Canals has more here.

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Elon Musk wanted to build a bathroom next to his office at Twitter so he didn't have to wake up his bodyguards when he needed to pee in the night, according to a new lawsuit.

A group of TikTok creators is suing Montana’s state attorney general over the state’s new ban of the social-media platform. More here

Real-estate investor Sam Zell, who famously made a fortune buying distressed commercial properties, has passed away at age 81. The WSJ has more here.

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